That condescending attitude is what inhabits the minds of 99.999% of public school teachers in the United States.
Holy cats, I must be one of those .00000001 percent who thinks differently! (actually I know a lot of teachers who do--any sane teacher knows that if the parents don't spend time with the kid at home, that he/she will not learn or progress as fast as those who have parents who do--preferrably TWO-parent homes) Hey! That makes me a minority. Maybe I can get some kind of special treatment.
Actually, I work WITH the parents of my students. I think they have wonderful things and new ideas to offer.
The influence (or lack of it) of a parent is more responsible for the child than almost anything not to leave out one's own individual choices and efforts, the influence of friends, etc. A teacher can indeed make a difference and be a good positive force in a child's life (I have seen countless examples of that), but we become what WE want to be and look to the examples of our parents first.
Too often today, we seek to blame others without looking inward first.
Moog, while I understand where you're coming from and I can't deny some truth in it, I do none the less have a serious problem with where you seem to be headed with those comments.
Yes, there are disruptive children. Yes there are bad parents. Yes, the kids can't concentrate because it's hot, cold or for other reasons.
I just can't help but think that with 12 years of having these children for 4 to 5 hours a day, nobody was able to teach them how to read or do simple math. Still, this happens.
Children just aren't learning. Way too many of them are not learning.
I hardly every took homework home with me from school as a child. My parentds didn't check up on me every evening. If there was a problem at school, they were contacted. Other than that, I did far less than the kids today are asked to do.
What gives?